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There is nothing like summer in New England. The salt air smells sweeter, the coastline is nothing short of picturesque and time seems to stand still. It’s a sort of magic that covers the entire region of the country, and everyone happily gets swept up in the nostalgia. So hosting your wedding weekend during this fabulous time is almost a no brainer. And when you do so with a lovely nautical flair, that’s when we get giddy. So soak up some of this rehearsal dinner sweetness snapped up by Michael Barnholdt Photography today in the full gallery – and stay tune tomorrow for this couple’s wedding!

From the Bride…What better way to greet our guests to Cape Cod than a traditional lobster dinner on the beach? My husband grew up on Cape Cod and spent all year running around the beach and enjoying the summer breeze. As we planned a destination wedding in Chatham, MA we wanted to plan an equally fun groom’s dinner to kick off the weekend and greet our guests. A majority of our guests were traveling from all over the country and some across the globe to make it to our wedding celebration, so we had to be sure to spend as much time with them as possible. Everyone who was invited to the wedding was also invited to the Groom’s dinner, so we hosted about 100 guests that evening.

We choose this elegant yet modern beach club because it was a favorite childhood spot for my husband to visit with his own sailboat and tie up right on the doc pictured here. In the 1980’s it was Thompson’s Clam Bar and now has been completely remodeled to an event space. We had a tent over the patio with planned lawn bowling and bocce ball but with a wicked storm on the way, we spent the rest of the evening in door indulging the the finest seafood around. Everything from Lobsters, clam chowder, clams and corn on the cob. We served local beer, and Groth white wine and appetizers as guests mingled at cocktail hour in the tent and then headed to the harbor dining rooms, with windows facing the Nantucket Sound.

Introducing the bridal party to family friends and reuniting college friends were so of the best moments of the night and brought the anticipation of the wedding day to an emotional high we will never forget. We were surrounded by every person that loved us, supported us and got us to the point we were at today, as we entered into the next chapter of our lives. Groomsman and ushers received the gifts from the Groom followed by toasts from the Groom’s mother and step father.

Luckily for our guests Clint’s step dad is a Lobster expert and gave a detail step by step demonstration for our gusts to crack, identify the gender of each lobster and make sure to eat every last piece of meat from head to claw. With a bunch of Midwesterners in the room, it was fun to tackle a lobster for the first time. For first timers, we had customized instructions to follow along. Each guest also had a nautical flag place card holder, that identified them at certain tables. We tried to mix up the groom’s and brides side as much as possible and have our guests mingle with one and other. All of the detail credit can be given to my mother in law who hand made each table assignment flag, built each sale boat on the tables and surprised guests with customized bibs with our names and wedding date on them. All within the red, blue and yellow nautical theme.

At the end of the evening guests boarded the shuttle back to Chatham and I set sights on my comfortable hotel bed for the night, preparing for the morning. We wanted all guests to feel welcome, enjoy cape cod and have a real taste of New England in mind when the left with a little excitement of a plate full of Lobster.